PLEASE HELP Psittacosis in cockatiel

[Sarahnani]

Hi everyone, I'm new here and hope you all can help me. My little guy is Kane, he's a 9 month old cocckatiel that I've had for 3 months. 2 weeks ago he woke up with a dark green mucusy dropping hanging from his backside and was shivering. I knew he was sick and took him to a vet, not board certified (the closest is 4 hours away), that took him in overnight and gave him X-rays, blood work, and an iv and antibiotics. He didn't perform the specific test for it because i had expressed a concern about the bill that still turned out to be about $400, but said he thought he had parrot fever (psittacosis) and gave him a weeks worth of baytril and sent him home. He also told me to kep him warmer because we had kept him at about 65-70 degrees. Sine then I bought a thermometer and have kept him at about 80-85. He was doing fine but still shivering which I read was a side effect of the supposed illness. So I called his vet back and asked if he thought he should be treated for the full 45 days recommended in the literature I've been reading and he said yes. So I got more meds and that leads me to my problem. The past couple days he won't eat much, he was eating his pellet/grain/seed mix and fresh veggies and fruits but now hes barely eating his pellet mix...he is very aggravated by having to be toweled and given meds twice a day. I'm not perfect at it and it's made his head sticky in some spots. I've tried to wipe them off but he fights me all the time so it's almost impossible to get his meds in let alone clean him up ( he's drawn blood). My questions are:

1) if he doesn't have parrot fever can the meds make him sick and not want to eat? Should I take him in for the test or just keep giving him his meds?

2) I know birds are emotional and will stop eating if they're upset, is it possible that he's not eating because he's staying in his cage and not hanging out on my shoulder? I feel so bad, we were just starting to get close when he got sick, now he tries to bite me all the time.

3)I know humans can get the illness but can dogs and cats? The vet just said keep them apart and they'll be fine but my dogs now have a little sneezing going on.

I know there were things I could have done better in caring for him but in all honesty I'm doing the best I can. My husband bought him for me as a gift and no one warned him about how hard it is to care for a bird in the right way. I'm learning. If you guys have any advice on how to care for Kane through this crisis I would be so happy to hear it! I love him and dispite the fact that he has been THE hardest animal I've had to take care of, I love him and want him to be okay...I was hoping to spend at least the next 10-15 years with him...
Thanks for any help y'all can give me! I actually hear him munching on his millet spray I put in there! fingers crossed

[marie83]

Ok you say your vet isn't board certified and that is fine but is he actually experienced with treating birds? he doesn't sound it tbh if he has given you baytril for 1 week to treat psittacosis if I'm honest.
I would like to suggest you find an experienced bird vet- even if they re not board certified, if they are all genuinely too far away for you to travel then get in touch with a few and see if one would be willing to guide your vet on what to do.

One more thing- good on you for doing your own research and pulling your vet up about the fact you thought he was wrong. Please seek more help about your 'tiel not eating asap, this really isn't something you should put off. If you cant get an emergancy appointment anywhere then do you have any porridge oats you can make up with water to handfeed him until the morning?

[Sarahnani]

No, the vet is an "exotic animal vet" in the normal vets office. He's the only vet that will treat a bird anywhere close to me. I called the board certified ones in Charlotte and they were both kind of stand offish about guiding my vet because that's exactly what I was hoping they would do, but no luck. So here I am, what meds work best for psittacosis? I'm sure he'd be willing to listen to me if I can figure that part out. I cooked up a scrambled egg w some shredded carrot and Kane ate some so that made me feel a little better..What are Porridge oats? Where could I get them? I tried plain cooked oatmeal earlier and he wouldn't touch it. thanks for responding!

[marie83]

I think oatmeal is the same thing, have you tried flavouring it with fruit? You could always mash up some pellets or if you have any hand rearing formula they would be good too.

I'm not sure what the best meds are in all honesty but I'm pretty sure its not baytril, the vets seem to hand that stuff out like liquified sweets and it doesn't often seem to do much good from what I've heard.
Thats rubbish about the vets... Maybe make the suggestion to your own vet and let him contact them.
If not then just try to do as much research of your own as you can, you can print out any sciencey papers that might be important because your vet will understand the technical terms and what it all means.

Good luck and keep us updated.

[Eric&Rebecca]

I'm so sorry to hear your tiel is sick.

Harrison's mash is apparently good for sick birds, perhaps you could try that wet?

[friend2parrots]

sorry to hear that your cockatiel is unwell. I don't have any advice, but I do want to wish your bird all the best toward a speedy recovery!

[Sarahnani]

Thanks for the advice on the food, I'm going to check out my local pet stores for it today...he did eat his seed pellet grain mix last night and I'm trying oatmeal with a lil apple in it this morning....I'm kinda thinking he is having sch a hard time because his medicine has his feathers sticky around his mouth...he's never liked baths and I can't wipe his face because he just won't let me...any ideas on how to help him with that? He's shaking his head and rubbing his beak on his branches a lot. :/

[Sarahnani]

Oh and thank friendly <3

[Eric&Rebecca]

The shaking and rubbing his beak on perches is probably him cleaning his beak. Our tiel does it after eating meals likes fruit or sticky veggies. He's probably just trying to get himself clean which is a good sign that he's trying to preen himself.

You can try misting him with warm water. Use a plant spray on the finest mist and make sure its warm water. Don't spray it directly in his face and don't soak him completely. When he preens elsewhere the water will help clean his face as he preens himself. Our cockatiel won't take baths either, maybe once or twice since we've had him has he got into his bath. We mist him once every two days and he's fine.

Maybe check with the vet though that this is ok before you do it. They may prefer not to bathe/mist him.

[marie83]

If his feathers are getting sticky around the beak and he isn't cleaning them himself properly then I'm afraid it really does need dealing with. A damp piece of cotton wool or tissue and some gentle restraint should do the job.